Generation Y
Mentoring Someone Whose Role Is Not Stimulating
Q:
Tammy,
I have been a mentor to a new employee from a different department for several months. We have been discussing job performance, his role at work, how to deal with the changing climate here due to the business conditions that have changed his role from an analyst to more of a day to day paper pusher, and how to deal with it. I am looking for new ideas/ subects to discuss with him. Any suggestions as to keeping our mentoring relationship meaningful and interesting?
Thanks,
Ed
A:
Hi Ed,
One possibility, depending on his interests and yours, would be to evolve into even more of a teaching role—about the business broadly, as opposed to the specifics of his current responsibilities. For example, you might have some sessions on how your company makes money—how the business model works—including reviewing the Annual Report and other financial documents, explaining relevant terms, and thinking together about how the department your mentee works in affects the firm’s performance. Perhaps you can invite him to spend some time with you in your department, learning more about the work there. You might bring in articles written about your company, industry or issues that impact your business for discussion—or maybe an article from a management journal or book. A number of business books today include discussion guides, (including Plugged In, the book I wrote for Gen Y’s—you can download it from this site.)
I hope that helps. He’s lucky to have you!
Best,
Tammy
Generation Y and the Economic Crisis
Q:
Hi Tammy,
In the face of the growing economic crisis, what do we early-career workers need to do to make ourselves more indispensable to our organizations? Secondly, what impressions from our “teenage years” can help us to really fathom what’s going on? Or, what generation is in a better place than we are to understand this—who can we turn to with questions? Thanks,
AW
A:
Hi A—
I’m a strong believer in the “a good offense is the best defense” strategy for any generation in the workplace today. That is, do the very best work you can. A few specifics for early-career workers:
* Do your assigned task thoroughly and well, before you volunteer to get involved in other special projects. I know someone recently who was contributing in major ways to a number of very interesting special initiatives for her company, but when the time came for lay-offs, she wasn’t viewed as integral to the core activities of the firm and was among the first to go.
* Help others. Look for ways to lighten the load for a colleague—quietly, perhaps with no attribution. Pitch in and word will get around that you are a solid team player.
* Stay heads up on trends and issues potentially affecting the business. Bring new ideas to the table. (But avoid being a “Debbie Downer”—no one wants to work with someone who only talks about problems—bring solutions and ideas, as well.)
In many ways, Gen Y is, by temperament and habit, very well suited to the rhythm of this economy. Your ability to “go with the flow,” to coordinate in the moment, rather than rely on long-term schedules and carefully constructed plans, are all good philosophical traits to bring to an unpredictable situation. Use them to your advantage. This is a great time to stay flexible, think near-term (“what can I do for the next year that is challenging,” rather than “how do I launch the long-term career of my dreams,” for example).
What you lack is experience navigating through a tough economic patch. Only the Boomers have had a significant dose of that—and most Boomer managers have a bag of tricks that are helpful at a time like this. Some of my favorites: focus on cash (as a metric and as an operational priority) and favor agility over low cost (i.e., rent instead of buy).
Good luck—your generation has a lot to contribute to helping firms through this tough economy.
Best,
Tammy
